Individual automation solutions for your bulk materials applications
Dispensing
Sample applications for dispensing materials:
- Screw feeder
- Pneumatic valves
- Docking
Better with Festo:
We have the right combination of automation components for you, enabling highly precise dispensing. From fully automated butterfly valve units, quarter turn and linear actuators to suitable valve terminals, we offer innovative and individual solutions for your dispensing process.
Conveying
Sample applications of conveyed materials:
- Pneumatic conveying for continuous and batch processes
- Dense phase conveying
- Dilute phase conveying
Better with Festo:
In addition to our automated butterfly valves, our integrated quarter turn actuators with sensor boxes, gate valves and control units and our valve terminals ensure your conveyor system runs efficiently and smoothly. Compressed air preparation is part of the pneumatic automation concept.
Storage
Sample applications of stored materials:
- Emptying stations for big bags or sacks
- Emptying and filling reservoirs and silos
- Transforming small components
Better with Festo:
Storing, relocating and refilling – the more complex the process structure, the more you can benefit from individual automation solutions from Festo. You can easily implement all the necessary controls for linear cylinders, gate valves, butterfly valves or other actuators using our valve terminal.
Mixing
Sample applications of mixed materials:
- Mixing liquids with bulk materials
- Colouring of granulate
- Batch mixers/continuous mixers
Better with Festo:
Especially in continuous mixing processes, it is important to ensure that the materials have a homogeneous structure after they have been mixed. Components from Festo that are controlled via valve terminals also offer both a reliable and high-quality automation solution for your systems when it comes to discontinuous mixing processes, too.
Separating
Sample applications of separating materials:
- Filtering out foreign particles
- Breaking up products
- Fractionation
- Reliable feeding of processing machines
Better with Festo:
With our quarter turn and linear actuators, you can effortlessly automate deflectors, butterfly valves, gate valves and other process valves. In addition, the valve terminal, sensor box and positioner enable you to implement the optimum control concept for separating your bulk materials. The filters are cleaned by precisely dosed air jets in the opposite direction to the process direction, sometimes using large volumes.
Is a single valve or a valve terminal better?
With Festo, you can automate your bulk materials processes in one of two ways: using individual valves or valve terminals. Individual valves are still widely used in the market nowadays, even in many cases where the use of valve terminals would offer clear advantages:
- Lower investment costs
- Compact design
- Implementation of additional functions such as proportional valves
- Flexibility thanks to fieldbus, easy integration and expandability
- Maximum plant and system availability thanks to system diagnostics
- Overall production and installation costs reduced by up to 40%
Our white paper objectively presents both solutions side by side (PDF)
Sample app ‘Presetting of travel time’: set the exact cycle times for a system or how much time the valves need for switching.
Sample app ‘ECO drive’: this app enables you to intelligently save compressed air, which pays off especially for systems in continuous operation.